Did you know that some fields work like fences against "large" enemies?

[Jaggid Edje]

After I started using the mod that adds a pathing overlay, I noticed that there are fields which, once planted, block large creatures.

I've been planting them (and then removing the fields) as cheap and easy "fences" to guide the attack wave movement ever since finding it out, and it works really well. Fern bushes are one example of a planted field that works like a fence (against large enemies).

The enemies don't seem to ever attack the plants either, which means no matter what, they will go around.

[IWKYZerocool]

Yeah. I tend to use them and the large trees to stop the large ones. Now need to find ones that stop those pesky hungry bugs.

[bmnoble981]

Been carrying on my insane trade save, testing out the fern bushes against big waves in year 9, putting a layer 5 plants deep around my fortifications leaving a clear path to the killzone, only time I see them attack the plants is when agitated by a brood mother, even then its usually only a few plants at best I just replace the destroyed plants far better than having to repair the fortifications.

The hatch ling variants though have no issue going through them but it is far preferable to deal with a few hatch ling's scratching at the walls after an attack then full grown bugs bursting through.

Haven't tested them against a wave with Glutches yet seen those things aggro on forests when their waves spawn, not sure how effective it will be against them when they decide to rub themselves against the bushes.

Edit update: Alright never seen Glutches go to their deaths in such an orderly fashion before. The only things that can path through the plants are the hatchlings and normal skarabs, everything else goes around leaving my fortifications alone.

Only issue I had was an extreme heatwave coming extremely close to wiping out the ferns, literally one more day and I would have had to replant the bulk of them.

[bmnoble981]

Tried out the overlay mod, along with the cheat mod that unlocks the dev console and did some testing from what I have found:

Fern bushes
Small Broadleaf bushes
Palm Bush
Dandelion trees

All block the larger bugs everything from the larger skarab variety's, adult shriekers and mantis and Glutch, provided you have them a few rows deep. Didn't have any success with the other plant varieties.

My testing method was to place the bigger bugs that could be tamed with the console, auto tame and train them so I could draft them then have them cross the various field types that I had auto grown with the console.

For bugs that could not be tamed I prepared an enclosed area of each field type that worked with the tameable bugs, so they were trapped in a box basically, placed the skarab and glutch types within and moved a drafted survivor close enough to draw aggro, the bugs only choice were to attack the plants to escape the box.

Regular skarabs and the hatchling types though had zero problems going right through the plants.

[Jaggid Edje]

Yep, that matches my findings though I didn't test as extensively as you. My testing involved planting them and seeing what happened in attack waves. LOL

[IWKYZerocool]

Thanks for testing it out. Must of taking a while to do all that. I will definitely use this knowledge for future builds.